Conventionally, a recliner chair will move from an upright position, in which the backrest is generally upright, to one or more reclined positions, in which the backrest pivots to be less upright. The movement of the seating unit between the upright and reclined positions is typically controlled by a pair of synchronized reclining mechanisms that are attached to the seat, backrest and base of the chair. Many recliners will have an extendable footrest or ottoman that provides support for the occupant's feet in the reclined position.
One particularly popular recliner is the “three-way” recliner, which has two reclined positions: an intermediate “TV position”, in which the footrest or ottoman of the chair is projected forwardly from the chair while the backrest remains substantially upright relative to the seat; and a “fully reclined position”, in which the backrest is less upright (i.e., it has been reclined to a shallower angle relative to the floor). In a “three-way” recliner, the backrest pivots relative to the seat as the chair takes its fully reclined position; this differs from a “two-way” recliner, in which the backrest and seat are rigidly fixed and do not pivot relative to one another as the chair moves to the fully reclined position, and from a “one-way” recliner, which typically has no intermediate “TV” position.
Early in the development of recliners, chair styles tended to be bulky, which limited the popularity of the recliner somewhat. Consumers have begun to demand reclining capability for less bulky chairs. Examples of sleeker, more modern recliner styles are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,669,922 to Murphy et al and U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,625 to Hoffman et al, the disclosures of each of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
As chair styling continues to evolve, it may be desirable to provide additional headrest configurations.